The Best Time to Visit Hanoi

The best month overall is November. It is dry at 48 mm on 7 days, with a 26.3°C (79°F) average high and a 19.2°C (67°F) low. That is the one stretch of the year when you can walk the Old Quarter at noon without planning around the sun. October comes within a whisker, with 29.6°C (85°F) and 126 mm, and early December keeps most of the comfort with a cooler evening.

Vietnam's tourism authority gives a wider window, April to June and September to December. The numbers narrow it. May and June already average 31.7°C and 33.8°C, with 188 mm and 231 mm of rain, so the usable part of the authority's spring window is April.

• Best overall: October to early December. Cooling, drying, clear skies and the best light for the Sword Lake shore and the Old Quarter.
• Best second window: April. 27.7°C (82°F), 79 mm and the start of the clear season for Ha Long Bay, before the heat of May.
• Best for a cool, quiet trip: January and February. Highs near 20 to 21°C, among the lowest rainfall of the year at 28 mm and 19 mm, and a mist that suits the old streets, as long as you pack layers.
• Avoid if you can: July and August. Highs above 32°C and the heaviest rain of the year, 300 mm and 335 mm.

What October and November Feel Like

October is a good time to visit Hanoi because the heat breaks. The average high drops from 31.6°C (89°F) in September to 29.6°C (85°F) in October and 26.3°C (79°F) in November, while the number of days with rain falls from 14 to 10 to 7. Vietnam's tourism authority describes September to November as cool with clear skies, and puts temperatures at around 25 degrees.

That changes how you plan the day. In August you book a morning and an air-conditioned afternoon. In November you can follow a single walking route from the lake through the Old Quarter to the Temple of Literature and not think about shade. The one-day itinerary and the two-day plan are written for exactly this kind of weather.

The Mausoleum Closure Sits Inside the Best Weather

The mausoleum's maintenance closure comes each year, and it falls in the autumn. In 2026 it ran from 4 September to 2 November, with the Mausoleum reopening to the public on 3 November. The dates change yearly, so a trip built around the best weather can arrive just before the doors open.

The rest of the Ba Dinh complex around it is separate, and the Temple of Literature is open from 8:00 to 17:00 every day of the week. If seeing the Mausoleum is the point of the trip, treat the closure as the first date to check and the weather as the second.

Autumn Week by Week

The table below follows autumn from the last hot month to the first cool one, using the same 1991 to 2020 normals as the chart, so you can see where the weather turns and what to plan in each window.

Hanoi is cool rather than cold, and the drizzle is what people notice. January averages a 20.0°C (68°F) high and a 14.6°C (58°F) low, February 21.3°C (70°F) and 16.2°C (61°F). Vietnam's tourism authority describes December to March as cool to cold, misty and cloudy, and notes that lows around 10 degrees can occur from late December to March, which feels sharper in an unheated room than the average suggests.

The odd month is March. It records 18 days with rain, more than any other month along with July and August, yet only 55 mm falls in total. That is the fine drizzle that soaks a jacket slowly. A packable rain shell is more useful than an umbrella on Old Quarter pavements, where you share the narrow space with scooters.

February is the driest month of the year at 19 mm, December follows at 24 mm and January at 28 mm, so this is the season for a trip built around warm food and indoor stops rather than a trip with nothing to do. A food tour or the water puppet show at 50 minutes indoors both work.

What to Do on a Grey Day

The practical list is short and cheap. Hoa Lo Prison is $1.94 (VND 50,000) and open 8:00 to 17:00 every day including public holidays. The Temple of Literature is $2.72 (VND 70,000) and open the same hours, with covered courtyards between the open ones. A 2 hour coffee class at $24 and a cooking class at $42 are both indoor and run in any weather.

Hanoi from May to September is hot, humid and wet, and it suits only travellers who cannot choose their dates. Average highs run from 31.7°C (89°F) in May to 33.8°C (93°F) in June and 33.3°C (92°F) in July, and the rainfall is 188 mm, 231 mm and 300 mm. The tourism authority calls June to August hot, humid and rainy and says the heat peaks in June.

Is June a good time to visit Hanoi? Only as a compromise. It is the hottest month on average, with 231 mm of rain over 16 days, so a day that starts at 7:00 and ends its outdoor part by 11:30 is the one that works. The afternoon belongs to something with a ceiling: a museum, a cooking class, a coffee workshop or the Thang Long water puppet show at $7.

The rain itself comes in short heavy bursts, with 300 mm in July and 335 mm in August spread across 18 days each. Expect to wait twenty minutes under an awning rather than lose a day. The real cost of the season is the heat on the days between.

Rain-Proof Afternoons

These four plans keep their roof in any weather, with the prices taken from the listed cards and the venues' own ticket pages, so a wet or very hot afternoon still has a booking attached.

Tet 2027 falls on Saturday 6 February, and the public-sector holiday runs from Thursday 4 February to Wednesday 10 February. That comes from the Ministry of Home Affairs notice of 9 October 2026, which gives officials seven days in a row. Private businesses may choose a different pattern, so a cafe or family restaurant in the Old Quarter may keep different dates from the official ones.

What stays open matters more than what closes. Hoa Lo Prison opens 8:00 to 17:00 every day including Tet. The Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre says it performs 365 days a year. The Temple of Literature is listed as open every day of the week, and in the cold season the Mausoleum still opens when the first day of Tet falls on a Monday or Friday. Always confirm the day before.

The tour side changes too. The overnight Ha Long Bay cruise carries a $5 per person Lunar New Year surcharge, the Ninh Binh day trip lists a Lunar New Year surcharge with no amount stated, and a second overnight cruise lists $45 extra on Christmas, New Year and Tet. Book early for that week and expect the city to feel emptier than usual as residents travel home.

The best months for Hanoi and Ha Long Bay together are April to June and September to November. Vietnam's tourism authority gives the same two windows for both. In April to June the bay has clear skies and sunny days, and in September to November a mix of sun and cloud with warm to cool temperatures.

The overlap is where you gain. October and November are the best Hanoi months and also the clear half of the bay's year. December to March in the bay is cool to cold, misty and cloudy, with January temperatures the authority calls frigid, but the limestone islands in mist are a real sight for those who accept grey light. June to August has storms, and the authority notes tropical storms can cause cruise cancellations, so book a day trip or overnight cruise with the free cancellation window in mind. Both are linked from the cards below.

For an inland alternative in any season, the Ninh Binh day trip runs on river and cave routes that are less exposed to sea storms.

Avoid July and August if your dates are flexible. They combine the second and third heaviest highs of the year at 33.3°C and 32.5°C with the two heaviest rainfalls, 300 mm and 335 mm, over 18 rain days each. May and June are the next hardest, and the first week of Tet is the one time the city itself changes pace.

If August is fixed, the trip still works with a morning-and-evening shape. Outdoors before 11:30, an indoor afternoon, and the Old Quarter after dark. The Hanoi itinerary pages show how to cut a day to that rhythm.